JOHN H. THEIL, 2LT, USA
John Theil '42
John Hughes Theil was admitted to the Naval Academy with an At Large appointment on June 15, 1938 at age 19 years 7 months.
He resigned on September 9, 1939 because he was "deficient in studies, second term's work. Continued with class pending reexamination. Reexamined and again deficient. Recommended to be dropped. Permitted to resign."
Photographs
No caption provided.
John is #4 in this picture of pilots from the 382nd Fighter Squadron, 363rd Fighter Group. Date unknown.
Loss
John was lost when his P-51 Mustang fighter went missing over the North Sea on March 4, 1944 while returning from a mission to Berlin. He was one of six men from his squadron — and another five from a sister squadron — who crashed in heavy fog.
Other Information
From researcher Kathy Franz:
John was born in Nebraska in November 1918. His mother Elizabeth Hughes married John Theil, age 28, on 4/24/1918. By 1920, she was a widow living with baby John at her father's house Joseph Hughes, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Her sister Laura Hughes was there, too. In 1940, she had remarried Herbert Cooper, an advertising salesman, and was living in San Gabriel with John, now 21 and unemployed, and son J. Thomas Cooper, age 14. John enlisted on 1/23/1941, 4 years of high school, occupation: architects.
John was assigned Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) 2848 following his loss. His service number was 43-6492.
John has a memorial marker in England; it notes he entered the service from California.
He is listed on the killed in action panel in the front of Memorial Hall.
Memorial Hall Error
John is identified in Memorial Hall as a member of the United States Air Force (USAF); this organization didn't exist until several years after his death. He was a member of the US Army.
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